Thinking of my grandmother as well as my mom on this Mothers Day weekend. I just placed one of these pans from the flower shop under a plant & thought about the many happy memories working alongside Grandma in Miss Bessies Flower Shop in Eatonton. My grandmother was Maude Edwards (June 26-April 29, 2003) She moved to Eatonton from Sandersville in 1949 & purchased the flower shop in 1962, running it until she sold it in 1997, yes, finally retiring at the age of 87! She was a successful business owner, a wonderful mother & grandmother. I cant tell you how many 4-H projects she helped me with from 1970- 1978 and she made every outfit for my Cotton Bowl competitions, 4-H banquets, talent shows, elementary school plays, & the bicentennial celebrations in 1976. She taught me how to crochet on Friday night sleepovers at her house after putting in a full day of work in the flower shop then let me spend the next day working with her & delivering flowers. She walked me to the bank one day & where she opened up my first savings account at the Peoples Bank teaching me to save my money rather than spend it. (I bought my own class ring from Me. Yarbrough.). She made all the flowers for my wedding in 1980, loved on her grandchildren, great grandchildren & every animal that came her way. She couldnt pass a cat without picking it up & holding it & never let a dog or cat go hungry. She was always willing to give a helping hand to those in need. Even when a young man (who she employed to help him out) stabbed her in the back when she caught him stealing from the cash register, it didnt stop her from reaching out to those less fortunate. For you see, shed been there & walked in similar shoes before. She was just a country girl from Deepstep who knew the value of hard work & didnt know how to say No or I CANT. She had four brothers, all raised on the farm, who were made fun of for being country. All four became doctors. (Dr. Osgood Bateman, Washington County veterinarian, her baby brother who always claimed SHE raised him 😊, Dr. William Hillard W.H. Bateman who became mayor of Forest Park, GA, Dr. Gregory Bateman, Dr. Needham Bateman, all three medical doctors in Atlanta. There was also a sister, Mattie Bell Bateman who I believe was a nurse & died at a young age. Their father was called professor. He was a school teacher in Washington County & farmed a lot of acreage with the help of his children. Grandma won many 4-H awards with her canning & gardening, receiving a 4-H college scholarship to UGA. However, her father didnt think it proper for a young lady to attend UGA (about 1928) so he sent her to Young Harris College. A few months later, she eloped & married. I always wondered what path her life would have taken if her father had allowed her to go to UGA. She was one of the smartest women I ever knew. She did take some businesses classes at night which proved to be of great value to her. She ran several businesses in Sandersville & Eatonton over the years back when women just didnt get out of the home & do that. There wasnt anything she couldnt do, figure out how to do, or fix. And youd better not tell her she couldnt cause shed prove you wrong. There was a lot of fire & grit in that little lady. She was still driving a tractor, plowing her garden when she was eighty! I was amazed that she got up in the dark & delivered newspapers from her station wagon before going to open the flower shop, did upholstery work in the back, ran a Western Union service from her office, directed weddings, served on the Welfare Board, Farm Bureau, Eastern Star, Pilot Club,Garden Club, Pink Ladies Auxiliary, WMU, several Home Demonstration clubs, taught little girls from the Baptist church GAs in the back of the flower shop because she cared about her granddaughter & friends and no one would volunteer. She served on so many city, county, church, & club committees I cant even name them all. And I cant fail to mention what a good cook she was from her fried chicken & biscuits to her famous chicken n dumplings! My momma is a fantastic cook as well. She learned the art of cooking, gardening & serving others from the master! Grandma, you were truly one of a kind!
Posted on: Sun, 11 May 2014 04:57:49 +0000